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Live sport on SN this weekend‘Special thing’: Why the Black Ferns-Red Roses reunion matters
Sport Nation • September 25th, 2026 2:48 pm
The Black Ferns and Red Roses last met in 2024 at Twickenham | Photo: Matthew Impey/Photosport
The Black Ferns and England Red Roses meet on Sunday (NZ time) for the first time in two years, renewing one of women’s rugby’s greatest rivalries.
English rugby reporter Sara Orchard says the fixture has a special place in the game, and the last Rugby World Cup win felt incomplete without England meeting New Zealand.
“There was something for me personally missing at the 2025 Rugby World Cup, which England went on to win, and that was simply the fact that England didn't get to play New Zealand,” Orchard told Sport Nation Afternoons.
“The last few times England have won the Women's Rugby World Cup, they haven't got to play them, and it is a frustration.
“There is something about England and the Black Ferns that you just feel in your body is just such a special thing.”
Black Ferns players looking dejected after being defeated by the Red Roses in 2024 | Photo: Matthew Impey/Photosport
She said the women's rugby matches have become a major family occasion, helping bring new audiences to women’s rugby.
“There's a huge appetite for women's sport all over the UK. We're used to these kinds of numbers now when it comes to the Red Roses. I think that number will be over 60k by the time we get to Saturday.
“It's a real occasion, particularly that families have tapped into, that they can have a whole day out for the family, and it doesn't cost them an arm and a leg like it does to go and watch England men play.”
The Red Roses have enjoyed a strong run in recent years, but Orchard had doubts they would be able to match the Black Ferns.
“In recent years, of course, you're pretty much guaranteed that you're going to see a winning team.
“Now, I've said to a lot of people, I don't think you can guarantee that win on (Sunday) because I think the Black Ferns are tracking incredibly well at the moment under Whitney Hansen,” she explained.
“I've been looking back at this match purely on paper from what we saw in the first opening games of WXC, and I have to say, on paper, I think the Black Ferns have it, but when it comes to emotion, and if England are going to wake up to the reality of what is going to face them on Saturday, who knows?”
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Orchard also fears repercussions of the world champions not often facing the strongest international opposition.
“As much as we're talking about an amazing run that England has been on, they don't get tested often enough.
"They don't get to play Canada, they don't get to play New Zealand, they get to play France once a year, and that's always a great fixture, don't get me wrong, but the last few times that I've watched it, I've known by 60 minutes that the Red Roses win it.
“I's very rare that they are still in a Test match when it comes to sort of 70, 75 minutes. It just doesn't happen for them.”
Listen to the full interview below:
